1. Field
The exemplary embodiments generally relate to distributed remote sensing systems and, more particularly, to distributed remote sensing systems having remote sensors for sensing a predetermined physical characteristic.
2. Brief Description of Related Developments
Parking monitoring/detection systems have traditionally been used to raise revenue. Such devices have included a timer and a winding mechanism requiring coins. More recently, electronic meters have been developed which include an electronic timer having an LCD time indicator.
With the advent of electronic parking monitoring devices, attempts have been made to make the parking monitors interactive with vehicle traffic in the associated parking space. One way to obtain information about vehicle traffic at parking spaces is to couple the parking monitor to a vehicle sensing device. The vehicle sensing device can detect when a vehicle enters a parking space as well as when the vehicle leaves. Attempts have also been made to centralized vehicle parking space monitoring where data collected by the vehicle sensing devices is ultimately transferred to a centralized monitoring location for analysis and application to user accounts.
Generally, the vehicle sensing devices and communication means between the vehicle sensing devices and the centralized monitoring location must be powered. It may be prohibitive to provide hard lined power to each vehicle sensing device and each communication means. As such, the vehicle sensing devices and communications means may have limited power supplies. The parking monitoring system components are also subject to failure and/or outages.
It would be advantageous to have a distributed remote sensing system that improves reliability through one or more redundancies in the system as well as improve power management of the system components.